The Dutch architect, who will take up his role as guest editor of Domus in 2019,  will dedicate 10 issues to urbanism. 

Winy Maas believes a wider view of what constitutes the city is needed in architectural publishing. By selecting the theme "the future city" for 2019 he hopes to posite: "What is the bigger picture?"    

Developers, politicians and other often overlooked players in the planning process are “beautiful” in his vision of creating cities of the future. 

“For me everything is urbanism,” he tells Mariotti in this video interview filmed at his studio in Rotterdam. 

“Domus to me as a child was like an Italian God of beauty,” he says. “I appreciate Domus as how it exists. It wants to claim beauty. It wants to claim that architecture is needed and it wants to celebrate that.”

“Even developers are beautiful, even politicians can be beautiful – they contribute to what you see as holy.”

Maas, who is co-founder of Rotterdam practice MVRDV and research unit The Why Factory, describes himself as a “techno fan”. 

He says that technology holds the key to creating more sustainable cities, which offer a better quality of life to inhabitants. 

“I am a techno fan, I love technology. I am almost against those that say ‘we only have to look at craftmanship, we only have to look at social issues’,” he says. 

“No, come on – technology is part of the whole game and is actually giving us incredible opportunities to make this planet better.”

“From food production for a big population to the issue of climate change our buildings should react to that, to the idea of adaptability in general.”

Maas is the second guest editor in Domus’ 10x10x10
series, which sees 10 leading architects each edit 10 issues of the magazine in the decade leading up to it's 100th anniversary. 

Maas takes over from inaugural guest editor Michele De Lucchi, who steered Domus through 2018.